TIME IN HAND: A SQUARE FOR BECKY B – Marilyn Armstrong

Time in your hand? I used to collect old pocket watches, but over the years, I’ve given many of them away to people who could afford to repair them.

It’s very hard to find anyone who can fix a watch these days.

It seems like clockmakers have disappeared along with buggy whip manufacturers. And also, buggies.

Elgin (Waltham) silver railroad pocket watch

I have two left I just couldn’t let go. The one showing here is a solid silver Elgin-Waltham railroad watch. Big, silver, heavy, it actually runs … but it needs a new crystal and I have no idea where to find one. So if anyone just happens to know a hobby watchmaker, let me know.

The railroad man’s watch

The only caretakers left are hobbyists. The “pros” change batteries. The people who “take care of watches” know nothing about them. If it doesn’t have a battery, they are lost.

I love the feel of a big, heavy pocket watch. This one feels so delicious in my hand, I didn’t want to put it away. I polished it up and put it in a pouch to keep it clean.

There is something so tactile about these. It’s not like looking at an electronic device. It’s analog, it’s time. You know they don’t even teach analog time in schools? I had to teach my granddaughter myself using a wooden clock and moving the hands around. It took maybe 5 minutes. The things they don’t teach are so simple, it’s ridiculous. They can go to London and not know how to read Big Ben.

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